Twilight Speculation thread

[navarre]

Ok- I'm quoting from Twilight here:

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"I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But it's better this way, really."

I opened my eyes. His face was very serious.

"I don't know what you mean," I said, my voice guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

My eyes narrowed. I'd heard that before.
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(SPOLER ALERT!)

And now I'm quoting from Midnight Sun:

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I tried to get as much of a warning through to her as was allowed. "It's better if we're not friends." Surely, she could sense that much. She was a bright girl. "Trust me."

Her eyes tightened, and I remembered that I had said those words to her before- just before breaking a promise. I winced when her teeth clenched together- she clearly remembered, too.
---------

It's the same scene, of course. So, Bella is clearly reacting to the fact that he's asked her to trust her before, but he broke a promise right after that, so why should she trust him now?

roseaurora brings up a great question. I believe there's a number of fanfics that attempt to answer that very question. I think that Edward would still have pursued her. Going with Carlisle's theory, about how they bring their strongest qualities with them into the next life, he hypothesizes that Edward was already very in tune with the way people thought. Bella, however, would seem like an enigma to him, simply because she doesn't react the way he thinks she should. I believe that would be enough to attract his attention, and he would end up pursuing her.

ringswraith, thanks for clearing me up on the whole 'it's better if we are not friends' thing. I had forgotten he had said something to her earlier. That's why I was thinking about a past experience in her life , not Edward.

[ringswraith]

navarre- You're welcome.

roseaurora- Well, the way the cantanti (singers) have been shown to us, while they sing for one vampire in particular (as Bella's blood does for Edward), they still are more appealing than most for other vampires as well. Witness Edward's concern for Bella when Jasper is present- and how he admitted to telling Jasper to stay away the day he brought her to their home.

So, it's possible that Alice was James' singer, or someone else's altogether; she would have still smelled better to James than any other human.

[suzyq248]

navarre- You're welcome.

roseaurora- Well, the way the cantanti (singers) have been shown to us, while they sing for one vampire in particular (as Bella's blood does for Edward), they still are more appealing than most for other vampires as well. Witness Edward's concern for Bella when Jasper is present- and how he admitted to telling Jasper to stay away the day he brought her to their home.

So, it's possible that Alice was James' singer, or someone else's altogether; she would have still smelled better to James than any other human.

Although Bella does smell better then most to all the vampires, I think that Edward's main concern with warning Jasper to stay away is that he is still struggling with the vegetarian restriction at all and he doesn't want to add any more risk for Bella.


I also was curious as to the mention of Alice smelling so good to James. I would guess that could also have been part of the appeal of the hunt that another vampire was protecting her as well though.

[roseaurora]

I posted this same thing in Alice's thread and got this response:

My theory on this is that the better a person smells to a vampire, the better vampire they'll make. Well, I guess I'm not explaining that properly; I think it's more like fate. Like Bella smelled so good to Edward, and when she became a vampire, she fit in perfectly with that life; found everything easier and seemed like it was her destiny to become one. And with Alice, she had such a miserable human life, but she's really content to be a vampire and makes the most out of that life.
I thinks she probably was the singer though, to the vampire that changed her. And her blood smelled so good that she smelled better than most humans to other vampires, too, similarly to the way that Bella does.

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, it does in my head!

I really like this theory, though it seems like those meant to be vampires would be too tasty for others to restrain themselves and allow them to be turned!

[Jazz Girl]

I posted this same thing in Alice's thread and got this response:

My theory on this is that the better a person smells to a vampire, the better vampire they'll make. Well, I guess I'm not explaining that properly; I think it's more like fate. Like Bella smelled so good to Edward, and when she became a vampire, she fit in perfectly with that life; found everything easier and seemed like it was her destiny to become one. And with Alice, she had such a miserable human life, but she's really content to be a vampire and makes the most out of that life.
I thinks she probably was the singer though, to the vampire that changed her. And her blood smelled so good that she smelled better than most humans to other vampires, too, similarly to the way that Bella does.

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, it does in my head!

I really like this theory, though it seems like those meant to be vampires would be too tasty for others to restrain themselves and allow them to be turned!

RoseAurora, this kind of goes along with my theory of the cantanti, that it is possibly the physical reaction to a deep emotional connection between a vampire and their soul mate. But, you are right that it makes the likelihood that they would kill that person rather than turn them much higher. I think Edward calls it "opportunity cost".

[Mrs.Edward_Cullen<3]

I love watching you guys go at it. New topic this time:

What is Bella and Edward's biggest issue?

[Jazz Girl]

Hahahahahahahahaha!!! Unfortunately, I think for time's sake, you might need to narrow that down just a little bit, Mrs.Edward_Cullen<3. It depends on which novel, which chapter and which page. I have said before that to me is what makes their love so amazing to me, the shear number of obstacles that they overcome. In spite of it all, they are able to find a way to be together. Sometimes, love isn't enough. But, in Edward & Bella's case, there was no stopping it.
But, if you are looking for a general answer, communication. It's not that they don't communicate, it is that they are almost afraid to communicate at times. He is afraid to tell her too much, that it will scare her away or hurt her in some way. She's afraid to be honest with him completely because she is afraid he will finally see her the way she sees herself, as unworthy.

[ringswraith]

I'm going to take another angle from Jazz Girl and say "insecurity."

Bella is insecure because she believes she doesn't deserve somebody as perfect as Edward. She keeps referring to him as a mythical creature- something that could disappear in the blink of an eye; she has an overwhelming fear of losing him. This conflicts with the profound love she feels for him, and it took the events at Italy and the resulting aftermath in Forks for Edward to prove to her that he is hers, and only hers.

Edward is insecure because Bella is just so darn fragile. He attempts time and again to throw himself in between whatever it is that aims to hurt her. He begins to worry that, if he stays with her, her proximity to his world (mythical beings and all) would ultimately kill her. Plus, he's stubborn about the whole "turn her into a vampire" subject. And along that subject, he is insecure because he feels that it will be the ultimate act of selfishness, on his part, to have Bella change just so he can keep her forever. He worries about her soul, and how she'd react to becoming a "monster" like him. Even after the convoluted agreement they brokered in between New Moon and Eclipse, he's still not sure until the events in Breaking Dawn.

[FrighteninLilMonster]

I can't believe I've never come across this thread before! It's so weird to see something I posted in another thread posted here, but not by me lol. Weird good, though!
Anyway, pretty much everything I wanted to say about la tua cantante and singers, roseaurora posted my quote on. Sorry to tredge up the past, but I just read through the novel-length past nineteen pages of posts (!) and the one thing that I have GOT to comment on is the idea of the Cullen Road Trip - LOVE this idea. Worldwide tour of visiting other vampires! Jacob and Rosalie stuck in the same RV is HILARIOUSLY entertaining. I think he would definitely leave his pack, and they would have to rejoin Sam's. Jake is the natural Alpha, so I don't think that Leah could lead the pack, because it's not in her genetics. Which kind of sucks for Leah. But then I don't think she'd rejoin the pack; I think she'd leave and do her own thing, like she told Jacob she was going to and I don't think Sam would stop her. Without the vampires around, there wouldn't be a need for shapeshifting to keep happening. She could start aging and living her own life again away from La Push and leave her werewolf years behind.
And also, the question asking if Jasper and Maggie's powers were mental or physical: Maggie, I think, would be a sort of gut instinct thing. She just knows, without a doubt. Snap judgement. Mental, I would think. And Jasper, physical. It has to be, because he can feel Bella's emotions, so she's not blocking him. I like the idea that he knows in his heart how people feel; that he can just feel it radiating from them, and can push what he wants them to feel out of himself and onto them.

Which brings me me to the latest question:
What is Bella and Edward's biggest issue?
I have to agree with ringswraith, and say insecurity; and then agree with Jazz Girl and say communication, because the latter is a consequence of the first. Bella feels so inferior to Edward's general awesomeness that it has an effect on how she sees herself as well as what she says to him. And in the same breath, Edward is so insecure that Bella isn't safe that he holds things back from her.
But then also, the two of them being so aware of each other being insecure. Edward refuses to hunt in between New Moon and Eclipse, because he knows that Bella is so insecure with her abandonment issues and is terrified that he won't return; so he doesn't leave. Which makes Bella feel guilty that he's doing it because of her, and creates all these negative emotions (poor Jasper) between the two of them that needn't be there. Edward is on the lookout for her being worried about Victoria (or whoever happens to be out to kill her at the time) that he hides information from her, or drags her over to Jacksonville to keep her away from knowing. Of course, Jacob knows, and Bella knows that he'll tell her, and makes him tell her. Which makes her feel insecure that Edward wouldn't tell her, that she might not be important enough to know or that he is thinking so much about her fears and doing so much to stop them and she can never keep up. And makes Edward insecure that she runs to Jacob, who tells her everything, which makes Edward jealous of Jacob and worried that she trusts him more. Their vicious circle of insecurity and lack of communication is their biggest issue.
Second to that, I'd say how differently they think. Their contrasting opinions often cause arguments between them; Bella's opinion of the wolves being dangerous is so different to Edward's that he tries to stop her from going to La Push, and that causes a lot of tension. As does Edward's opinion of Bella's pregnancy differ from hers, which puts a lot of things between them, between Edward's guilt that he did this to her, and Bella's guilt that she's putting him through pain.

Uber-post over, apologies!

[navarre]

I love watching you guys go at it. New topic this time:

What is Bella and Edward's biggest issue?

For both insecurity. Edward's problem is that he knew he could not compete with Jacob in the human realm; to touch her without hurting her, to be with her without being inhibited by his own strength, so forth(of course, that was proven wrong in BD - the honeymoon) Also, he never could believe that Bella could love him - monster.

For Bella her insecurity was herself as a whole. To her, he was so beautiful, like an angel. So brilliant, perfect, she never could believe she would have such good fortune to have him in her life. And he very nearly destroyed her by his very words on the forest trail in NM.

What also bothered me was how hard it was for these two to come clean with each other. In Eclipse, he was reluctant to tell her that he was really jealous of hers and Jacob's relationship. Ironic that he should open up to his mortal enemy - Jacob Black.

Bella seemed to have an easier time talking to Jacob with the glaring exception of NM when she would not really say that they could only be friends and put the skids on that growing relationship.

Anyway, that's how I see it.